1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a composition of matter and method for reducing warts.
2. The Prior Art
The wart is an epidermal eruption that has historically proven to be resistant to treatment and also transitory in nature. Probably the most vexatious of all warts, for example, other than those which constitute cosmetic blemishes, is the plantar wart, verruca plantaris, which occurs as a lesion in the thickened tissue on the sole of the foot. The plantar wart generally interferes with walking comfort and may even combine as an aggregate of contiguous plantar warts to form a mosaic wart thereby adding greatly to the discomfort of the victim.
Previous methods of wart treatment have included fulguration (destruction of the epidermal eruption tissue of the wart by electrolysis), surgical removal, or the application of various tissue removing agents including, for example, liquid nitrogen. Examples of other tissue removing agents include a keratolytic agent such as salicylic acid (o-hydroxybenzoic acid) and a blistering or vesicating agent such as cantharadin, (2, 3-dimethyl-7-oxybicyclo [2.2.1] heptane-2, 3-didicarboxylic anhydride).
It will be noted that in each of the foregoing prior art techniques for treating warts the technique involves the physical destruction of the epidermal tissue manifestation of the wart without necessarily attacking its underlying causative agent. As a result, it has been found that the epidermal eruption of the wart often returns, even after extensive and ofttimes painful treatment.
Successful wart treatment is further hampered by the requirement that the patient make frequent return visits to the treating physician. Accordingly, the patient finds this bothersome and often neglects to continue appropriate treatment resulting in treatment failure.
From the foregoing, it is readily apparent that successful wart treatment requires that the treatment involve suppression or, preferably, destruction of the underlying causative agent. The treatment should also be relatively rapid, painless, and effective when conducted by the user. Such a method of treatment and composition used in the method is disclosed in the present invention.